


Revelations

by FuseboxMusebox



Category: Love Island (Video Game)
Genre: Anxiety, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Insecurity, Slow Burn, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:56:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25183624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FuseboxMusebox/pseuds/FuseboxMusebox
Summary: In the midst of the chaos, Ali is starting to realise that her best friend might be more than just her best friend.
Relationships: Bobby McKenzie & Main Character (Love Island), Bobby McKenzie/Main Character (Love Island)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 35





	Revelations

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Did someone say a series of oneshots about slowburn Bobby in the villa? No…? Oh well here’s your first one anyway.  
> Ali was my season 2 main character but feel free to imagine yours instead, I felt more comfortable writing an actual name rather than just “MC.”  
> (Also shoutout to bobbymckenziess and SpicySsriracha for helping me with this - talented Queens)

_Shit Shit Shit Shit._

Truth be told, Bobby didn’t have a clue what the hell was going on. The only thing he knew at this precise moment was that she absolutely did not deserve this. Sitting around the firepit waiting for the last person to reveal the decision to their partner, he looked over at her. 

Ali was trying to play it cool. Pretending that she wasn't worried. It seemed like everyone was buying into the façade but not Bobby. Bobby could read her like a book and he could see the way her hands were trembling ever-so-slightly. The way she was breathing just that little bit deeper to try and get a grasp on her anxiety. The way she fidgeted every-so-often because she can never sit still when she's uncomfortable. And _shit_ did she have a reason to be uncomfortable. 

There was nothing that he could do to prepare her for what was about to happen and he knew that in about ten seconds the loose mask of calm collectedness would turn into a brick wall as she tried to make out that she was fine. But she wouldn’t be fine. And that thought brought a twinge of pain to Bobby’s chest. 

**********

_Deep. Breaths._

It was the only thing Ali could tell herself as she fidgeted anxiously while waiting for Lucas to come out. The more time that went by, the less confident she was feeling and all the signs were pointing to the fact that he decided to switch. Upon waiting for the moment of truth she saw Gary lean over and whisper something to Lottie, who shook her head and looked over to her with something that resembled pity. _Brilliant._ Deciding to look for more reassurance she glanced over at Bobby, her best friend and confidant. His expression was trying to be encouraging and an attempt to tell her everything was going to be okay but it was his eyes that betrayed him as she could see the worry swimming in them. _Absolutely brilliant_. 

After what felt like hours of waiting, everyone heard footsteps approaching. One pair of regular footsteps and the sound of clicking heels. _Absolutely fucking brilliant._ She vaguely heard the sound of some of the girls gasping in shock and didn’t even acknowledge the feeling of Chelsea reaching out to give her hand a comforting squeeze. All the thoughts inside of her head emptied and everything just kind of… stopped. 

A few moments passed and Ali was now hyper-aware of everyone watching, awaiting her reaction as she stared at Lucas and _her_ with an unreadable expression. She miraculously managed to get the words out semi-confidentently that she was absolutely fine with this turn of events even though she could feel her self-esteem slipping with every passing moment. Sure, the girl’s outfit looked like it was pulled from a trashy 2002 tween magazine but apparently she had something Ali evidently didn’t. Nothing new there. 

She managed to snap herself out of her thoughts long enough to hear Blake getting defensive about being like her. “Don’t compare me to Ali, I’m not one of these girls who has to try all the time just to look good.” Ali snorted slightly at that. “That isn’t Lucas’ type either. I know Ali has been trying so hard this whole time, and all I did was be myself.” _Bitch._

Ali could feel Bobby’s gaze burning into the side of her head from where he was sitting and turned to meet his eyes which, granted, was a big mistake. He was her closest friend in here and he'd been her rock through all the ups and downs. Which was why he could now see through whatever bullshit mask she was trying to put on so she didn't fall apart in front of the entire villa. Besides concern, there was another emotion shining in his eyes, emphasised by the glow of the fire. Empathy maybe? Whatever it was coupled with him mouthing the words “are you okay?” had Ali averting her eyes to the ground and swallowing the lump that was now forming in her throat. 

Everyone in the villa began dispersing into smaller groups to catch up on the events of the last few days, signaling the end of the recoupling. Socialising was the last thing Ali felt like doing right now. Without a word to anyone she stood up and headed to the roof terrace - the only place she knew where she could escape the chaos and clusterfuck of the evening, and waited for Bobby to join her. She knew he wouldn't leave her on her own right now, no matter how much she thought she wanted him to. 

**********

Bobby watched Ali leave with deep-rooted concern and a heavy feeling in his chest. He knew she was feeling awful and trying her hardest to keep her feelings in check. But he also knew that at some point the poorly built dam was going to burst and there was no way he was going to let her handle that on her own. 

“You alright, mate?” Gary had apparently stayed behind, too. 

“I don't think it's me that should be asked that question” he pulled his eyes away from where Ali had disappeared and looked over at Gary “but yeah. I'm good. What about you? How are you feeling about Chelsea switching?” 

Gary ignored his attempt at changing the topic. “You're worse than she is, you know that right?”

“What do you mean?”

“I'm gonna be brutally honest here because the two of you are my best mates and I'm sick of seeing you both miserable” he took a pause and looked Bobby dead in the face. “You need to tell Ali how you feel.”

“Gary, with all due respect, what the fuck are you on about?” Bobby knew exactly what he meant but he sure as hell wasn't going to admit that out loud just yet. 

“You're both very good at hiding how you really feel but contrary to what you may believe, we're not that dense.” Bobby started to look around in the vain hope of finding an escape from this conversation. “You like her. You've liked her for a while and the only thing you've done is sat back and watched while she chose arseholes and got hurt because of it. From where I'm sitting, she needs a nice guy for a change and I'm looking at one right now who blatantly has feelings for her. Tell her how you feel.” 

Gary's speech was great but it definitely wasn’t something Bobby wanted to hear. To him, it wasn't as simple as just being open about his feelings.

“I get where you’re coming from but it isn’t as easy as that.” Bobby muttered quietly, just loud enough for Gary to hear. 

“It could be.” 

“But it isn’t. I’m not telling her I have feelings for her just to get shot down and have our entire friendship ruined because she doesn’t feel the same way.” 

Gary smirked at him. “So you admit that you do in fact have feelings for her?”

 _Obviously_. Bobby met his smirk with a look that clearly said Gary was stupid. “Have you met her? What do you think?” 

“Personally, I think you’re an idiot but that goes without saying.” He stood up to leave. “Ultimately, it’s up to you but we'll all be judging you for making the wrong choice.” He started to walk away but turned back with one final thought.

“Oh, and Bobby?”

“What?”

“If it makes you feel any better, I think she genuinely does like you too. She’s just too afraid to admit it to anyone, including herself.” 

_No, Gary, that does not make me feel any better._

**********

 _Why Why Why Why._

Sitting on the roof terrace now, Ali had only one question buzzing around in her head. _Why?_ It made sense, she supposed, that the things that happened before coming into Villa would happen while she was here too. She had never been particularly lucky when it came to love, having a string of bad relationships that ended fairly quickly. A lot of liars. A lot of cheaters. The more Ali thought about it though, the more she began to think she was the problem. The common denominator in all this was her, after all. 

Not only were her insecurities playing a huge part in her line of thinking right now but she also needed to consider the fact that she was now single and needed to weigh up her options. Her thoughts began drifting to the boys in the villa which was oddly a welcoming distraction from picking herself apart.

Lucas was a no-go, that much was obvious. There was no way she was going down that path again. She was also not getting in the middle of that whole Hope-Noah-Priya mess so Noah was also out of the question. She’d never shown any particular interest in Rahim and Jakub was definitely out. And bless Gary, he was sort of like the older brother she never wanted. 

By this point Ali had started to contemplate the fact that she would likely be going home very soon. She couldn’t think of any other options. 

“Cupcake for your thoughts?” She’d been so lost in her own mind that she completely missed the sound of the terrace door opening. She looked up into the eyes of Bobby who was holding a small cupcake with a soft expression on his face. 

“Oh, hey. I didn’t hear you come out.” 

“Yeah, I was thinking about making you jump but I don’t know if you’d have appreciated it.” Her lips twitched slightly but she was still too overwhelmed with a variety of different emotions that she couldn’t quite manage an actual smile. 

“How are you feeling?” He came to sit beside her. 

“Can you hear that?” Ali asked with false curiosity. 

“Hear what?“

“Oh, it's nothing it's just… if you listen carefully you can hear the sound of my self-esteem flatlining.” 

Bobby gave her an incredulous look. _Of course she's making her insecurities into a joke._ “Making jokes in serious situations is my thing.”

“First of all it's not just your thing, we happen to have the same talent,” he shook his head as she continued, “and second of all I'd hardly call this a serious situation.”

“Really? Because you haven't smiled since the beginning of the recoupling.” It was an effort to keep the anger out of his voice. He wasn't angry at her, obviously. He couldn't be angry at her if he tried, but he would love to know what was going through Lucas’ head when he switched someone so perfect for someone significantly less than. 

Bobby's face softened as Ali flinched slightly. “Just a momentary blip in my otherwise upbeat nature.” 

Bobby nodded but didn't say anything in response. He moved as if to reach for her hand but thought better of it. He elected to just sit next to her and wait for her to open up. 

They sat in silence for a few minutes until he heard a quiet sniff indicating the start of the waterworks. Without even thinking he wrapped an arm around Ali and pulled her into him. 

A few days ago Bobby would have relished in the feeling of having her in his arms, her head buried in his chest but right now, he decided he hated it. His heart clenched so painfully as she let out a quiet sob and he squeezed her tighter, trying to offer all the comfort he could while feeling so incredibly useless, like there was nothing he could do to make her feel better. There was one conclusion that he came to as he ran his hand through her gloriously soft hair. There was nothing in this world that was worse than seeing Ali upset. If she wasn't smiling then he wasn't happy. 

**********

It didn't take Ali too long to calm down. It was strange. Normally when she broke down she had a difficult time pulling herself back together again but the feeling of Bobby's arms squeezed around her was so comforting. His hand running through her hair seemed like the most soothing thing in the world as she rested her head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat. She took a deep breath and found herself feeling a lot more relaxed than she had in days. She was suddenly hit with the slightly alarming thought that the position they were in right now just felt… right. She felt safe. Safe from the dangers of her own mind, safe from her own worries and insecurities. _Huh. T_ _his is new_. A strange feeling settled within her as she pulled away to look at Bobby with a confused and thoughtful expression. The worry, concern and _care,_ she realised, was shining in his eyes so brightly she didn't know what to say. 

“You alright, Lass?” 

“I- um- yeah. I'm okay.” And she was. Despite feeling slightly unsettled by her own epiphany, she registered that for the first time that night that she actually _was_ okay. 

“Good,” he smiled at her and she found herself smiling back, “I was gonna go and catch up with the others if you fancied joining me?” 

“I want to stay up here a little longer but I'll be down in a bit.”

Bobby looked concerned once more. “Are you sure? I can stay if you need me to.”

She shook her head as she continued to smile at him. Bobby nearly forgot to breathe for a second as he looked at her, makeup smudged, eyes still glistening from the tears earlier, that perfect smile. _God she's beautiful._

“I promise I'm okay, go and have fun. Shove Gary into the pool for me.” 

Bobby was so relieved to hear that mischievous tone back in her voice that he didn't dare ask her again if she wanted him to stay so they could talk more. He nodded and stood up to leave. 

“Alright, Lass but if you come down and still haven't eaten that poor forgotten cupcake I'll be shoving _you_ into the pool.” The melodic laughter that came out of her mouth following that threat had Bobby grinning as he left the roof terrace. 

A small smile remained on Ali’s face as she picked up the cupcake that had indeed been forgotten on the seat next to her. Without meaning to, her thoughts drifted to Bobby once more.

He was always there when she needed him to be. He always seemed to care so much when nobody else did, and he was always the one to pull her out of whatever negative mood she was in. He was just… _there_. Whether she asked him to be or not. 

Staring down at the cupcake she suddenly felt a different kind of panic settling in. It had nothing to do with Lucas or Blake or being sent home from the villa. No, all of that was forgotten as the metaphorical fog cleared away and Ali realised that what she had been looking for had been in front of her the entire time but she was too scared to see it. 

_Shit Shit Shit Shit._

This was a dangerous situation to be in. If she admitted this and he didn't feel the same way, she'd be ruining one of the best friendships she'd ever had. On the off chance that he did feel the same way, she'd be subjecting him to her inability to stay in a relationship for longer than a few months. If her past relationships were anything to go by, this would be over fairly quickly and she'd _still_ be ruining one of the best friendships she'd ever had. 

She let out a frustrated sigh as she realised there was no way out of this besides suffering in silence. Ali had feelings for her best friend and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it.

**Author's Note:**

> From the bottom of my heart, I'm so sorry. I didn't actually expect the ending to go this way but I hope you enjoyed reading it! I really want to rewrite more scenes from the slow burn Bobby route so if you have anything you want to see redone then let me know!  
> Tumblr: fuseboxmusebox / music-and-movies


End file.
